The Fasting Track

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"Big pulses of chemicals going out of you may not be healthy," says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. "Once things are in your body, there may not be a safe way to remove them."

Doctors and dietitians say they might endorse fasting if they could find some objective, credible proof that it's safe and effective. "If there is enough evidence in five years, I'll be recommending this to people," says Jackson Blatner.

Meanwhile, other health professionals are concerned that the trend toward fasting may give people with eating disorders an excuse for starving themselves. While fasting for a day or two isn't a problem, the body goes into a deprivation mode during longer fasts, says psychologist Maria Rago, clinical director of the eating disorder program at Linden Oaks Hospital in Naperville, Illinois. "Fasting has also been universally shown to set people up for binge eating," Rago says. "If they're fasting, they might not be able to help overcompensating for that with a binge."

People with diabetes should not fast, nor should women who are pregnant or nursing (fasting could release lead and mercury into the bloodstream), infants, children, elderly people, anyone with irregular heartbeats, and people who take prescription medication (which could be toxic to the kidneys during a fast). If you are young and healthy and want to try a prolonged fast, seek guidance from a doctor or other health care provider first.

Or you might consider prevention. It sounds boring, says Zidenberg-Cherr, but plain old moderation, exercise, and clean living will go farther toward improving your health than fasting.

"Fasts and detox diets give people a false sense of security," says Jackson Blatner. "We need to eat lots of fruits and veggies and drink lots of clean water every day--it's more of a lifelong process." And limiting our exposure to chemicals prevents more toxins from entering our bodies in the first place, adds Lunder.

Reprinted from E (May/June 2007), the environmental magazine published by Earth Action Network Inc. Subscriptions: $29.95/yr.
(6 issues) from Box 2047, Marion, OH 43306; www.emagazine.com.

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